BACP Accredited Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling (Levels 4 and 5)

The Diploma Course

We think our BACP Accredited Diploma course is special and here are some reasons why. Once you’ve read them, we think you’ll agree! Some of these are unique characteristics which we think set us apart from other training providers. 

• Client work is at the heart of what we do. 
  You will be training in a clinical setting rather than an educational establishment. Supporting people’s mental health is a responsibility and a privilege and our organisation holds this at its core. 
• Training is in small groups.
  We have a maximum of 16 students in any Diploma year. This ensures that the training team have the time and space to nurture and develop each individual trainee, a responsibility that we take very seriously.
• Your clinical placement and supervision are provided within Basingstoke Counselling Service and at no extra cost. 
  This ensures a cohesive and containing experience, as the clinical and training arms of the Service are integrated and work to support each other. It also eliminates a great deal of stress that can be involved in finding a placement!   
• It takes place over three years.
  We don’t believe in rushing learning. We think it’s vital that we take the time to nurture our trainees, so that they can, in turn, nurture their clients. This is also evident in our requirement of 150 clinical hours, rather than the minimum of 100 required for BACP accredited diploma courses.  
• Open-ended client work. 
  We also don’t believe in rushing our clients and support them to take the time they need to achieve better mental health by offering counselling with no fixed timeframe. This enables the client to work with their counsellor for as long as they feel is beneficial.  
• Our training is psychodynamic. 
  The nature of this modality facilitates our trainees to work at depth with clients, identifying how past experiences influence present behaviours. We also teach our trainees to understand how psychodynamic counselling fits within the larger therapeutic arena and the approach of other counselling modalities. 
• We believe that personal development is intrinsic to the training journey. 
  This is a fundamental part of the course structure through personal therapy and experiential learning. This is a challenging, but essential aspect of the training, as separating your own material from your clients’ material takes skill, practise and significant self-awareness. Fundamentally, we believe that in order to join your client on their journey, you need to have done the tour yourself! 
• Our experiential group runs for the duration of the course. 
  It is led by a Group Analyst who is not a member of the training team in any other capacity, thus providing the trainees with a safe space to explore themselves and group dynamics. 
• There are plentiful opportunities to network. 
  All Diploma training takes place on the same day enabling trainees in different years to mix outside of structured learning. We also have other counsellors at the Service, who you will meet whilst undertaking your clinical work and who come together twice-yearly at internal CPD events (offered at no cost to all our trainees and counsellors).  
• We have high expectations of our trainees.
   As an organisation, we have high levels of passion, enthusiasm and commitment. It is important to us that our trainees reflect these attributes in their professionalism and clinical work.  
• We have been providing training for over 30 years.
  Our long heritage of delivering rigorous and robust training means that we are well renowned within the counselling community as an outstanding training provider. 
• The quality of our training team is of paramount importance to us. 
  We believe that for trainees to receive the best training experience possible, those training them need to be dedicated, highly skilled, experienced practitioners who are passionate about their subject matter. This is why our training team comprises of exactly that, a team of Seminar and Workshop leaders, all of whom have individual expertise yet work together to provide training renowned for its quality and rigour. 
• You will achieve a Level 5 Diploma qualification.
  This will enable you work as a professional counsellor, either within an organisation or private practice.  
• To prove all of this, our Diploma is BACP accredited.
  This is a mark of the high-quality and professionalism of the training that we provide. 
• We are a charity.
  Any profit that we make is invested back into the work that we do to provide counselling to members of our community. In joining our Diploma, not only are you supporting your own development, but also that of many others.

Diploma Information Pack

Further details of the course can be found in our Diploma Information Pack below.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of our training programme please contact us on 01256 843125 or email training@basingstokecounselling.org.uk 

Diploma Information Evening

A Diploma Information Evening with the Diploma Course Manager will be held on Wednesday 13th November 2024 from 5pm to 6.30pm at BCS. If you would like to attend, please email training@basingstokecounselling.org.uk.

Application Process

The next Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling will commence in September 2025. Training takes place during the day on a Friday at BCS, with an additional commitment of four Saturdays per academic year for workshops. 

The application window for the September 2025 intake is now open and will close on Friday 10th January 2025. The interviews will take place on Wednesdays 29th January, 5th February and 12th February 2025.

As the application form requires you to complete it in one go, in preparation for applying we recommend you read through our guidance form, which shows the questions on the application form and will help you gather the information required in advance of completing it. Once you are ready, if you wish to submit an application for consideration, please apply via our online Application Form.

Course Fees

Please note that our fees are reviewed every year and the information below relates to September 2025 entry.

£10,995 standard fees
£10,795 for Basingstoke Counselling Service Certificate course attendees

Both of the above rates cover the total cost for the three-year course; these are not the fees per year. This includes the costs of supervision and the in-house placement, but not personal therapy.

Upon acceptance of a place on the Diploma, a financial contract with Basingstoke Counselling Service is entered into. This involves the following:

• Payment of a non-refundable deposit of £600, which acts to secure your place on the training
• A commitment to pay the fees in full for the academic year in which you are enrolled, regardless of whether you complete that year.

Should you withdraw from the Diploma, having accepted a place but prior to the course commencing, BCS will make every effort to fill your place, however, if this is not possible, your commitment to pay the full fees for the academic year remains. If BCS is successful in filling the place, no further financial commitment will be required.

Fees can be paid in full at the beginning of each academic year or in monthly instalments by Direct Debit (at no additional cost).

We recognise that the costs associated with this course may be prohibitive for some. Unfortunately, trainees on our courses are not eligible to apply for a loan from the Student Loan Company and we are therefore looking at alternative options.

We are also hoping to secure some bursary funding to further support trainees whose financial means are not sufficient to undertake this course.

If you are interested in further details of loans or bursaries, please let us know and we can keep you updated as we get more information.

Application Fees

There is a non-refundable application fee of £100, which is in addition to the fees above.

If you are successful at interview stage, an additional fee of £150 is required for the external assessment and applicants cannot progress further without completing this part of the process.

The application fee of £100 can be paid either by PayPal or bank transfer.

Paypal

Please use info@basingstokecounselling.org.uk as the email address of the person you wish you pay.

So that we can match your payment on our PayPal account, we would appreciate it if you would email either the transaction ID or a copy of your PayPal receipt to training@basingstokecounselling.org.uk

Bank Transfer

Please use the bank details below:

Account Name: Basingstoke Counselling Service
Sort code: 40-52-40
Account Number: 00036316
Please use your surname as the reference.

So that we can match your payment in our account, please email training@basingstokecounselling.org.uk with the date you made payment, the amount paid and the reference you used.

The Final Word

We understand what a commitment our training is; it is rigorous, challenging and at times all-consuming but it is also often life changing. So, before you make the decision to apply, we thought it might be helpful to hear not only what the BACP Assessors have to say about our course but those who have been on that journey. 

“Attending the Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling has been life-changing for me. Even if I never practise as a counsellor (though I intend to), what I have gained personally from the course is priceless. It has allowed me to explore and think differently about all aspects of my life.”

Sue graduated 2024

“This Diploma is more than just a course! A transformative experience in many ways.”

Federica graduated 2021

“The training provided by BCS is one that has taken me on an extraordinary journey. I hoped it would provide me with the opportunity to rethink my career, but it has done so much more than that. The weekly seminars have enriched so many aspects of my life, expanding and challenging my thinking in so many different ways. As well as helping me to gain the necessary skills to qualify as a counsellor, the course has honed skills that have powerfully impacted my personal and professional life. The course is challenging, but the tutors provided invaluable support along the way. I can’t recommend it enough for anyone wanting a rigorous and in-depth training to become a counsellor.”

Charlotte graduated 2021

“This course is well structured, and the content provides valuable opportunities for students’ development and learning, with a significant proportion of intensive learning focused on the development of students’ self-awareness of themselves and the therapeutic process; the assessment process is robust and provides ample opportunity for students to receive on-going feedback throughout the course.  The in-house placement and supervision process is an asset to the course, the protocols and procedures for which, evidence a high standard of ethical and professional practice.  It is evident that the course is coherently designed, delivered and well managed by committed and well qualified staff.  Despite the challenges posed by the onset of Covid-19, staff responded quickly to online teaching and continued the high standard of teaching, experiential learning, and clinical practice. It was clear from student feedback that students are comprehensively supported by a responsive and accessible tutor team, and they encounter a secure and comfortable learning environment. Throughout the visit it was apparent that the tutor team modelled the values which underpin the course philosophy.”

BACP Assessors